Pollution is certainly one example of this. Another one
that has been relatively well-publicized lately is the deforestation that has been
happening in places like Indonesia because of the global demand for palm oil. This is
an example of the environment being degraded in order to produce a good that is desired
all over the world.
Palm oil is a commodity that is needed
today for use in cooking, but also for biofuels and for use in cosmetics. Because of
this, the price of palm oil has been rising. This makes people and countries want to
grow palms for oil. In places like Indonesia, this has led to the destruction of
natural forests. This has also led to an increase in emissions of greenhouse gasses.
As the worldwatch.org link below says,
readability="7">Due mostly to oil palm production, Indonesia
emits more greenhouse gases than any country besides China and the United
States.There are many other
examples like this. The basic idea is that a globalized economy can create increased
demand for goods. Countries often start to degrade their environments in order to meet
that increased demand.
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